Minister Shatter announces targeted changes in the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter TD, today announced some targeted changes in the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) operated by his Department. The changes, which were agreed by the Government, followed a review of the operation of the STEP and are intended to refine the programme and improve its appeal to potential migrant entrepreneurs.

To date a total of 20 applications have been approved under the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme with a projected investment of over €6 million and potential employment creation of over 220 jobs. There are, however, indications of further opportunities to attract entrepreneurs and further enhance Ireland’s excellent reputation as a business and investment location.

Speaking today, Minister Shatter said “When we launched the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme in April 2012, I deliberately avoided making any predictions on the level of interest in scheme. This is new territory for Ireland and it was not possible to predict the level of demand at that time. The approach was to allow the Programme to operate for a reasonable time and to review it to establish whether improvements could be made. This has now been done and while the level of interest so far has been encouraging, I believe that we can do more in this area to attract entrepreneurs to Ireland and to offer those people already here a real option to stay on as entrepreneurs. With this important objective in mind, the Cabinet has agreed to my proposal that a number of adjustments be made to the programme”.

The main changes, which will take effect from 15 March, are:

§ The required minimum investment will be reduced from €75,000 to €50,000. Where more than one principal is involved in establishing the business the minimum investment for second and subsequent entrepreneur will be €30,000 per principal.

§ A 12 month immigration permission will be made available for foreign national entrepreneurs attending incubators or innovation bootcamps in Ireland. The 12 month permission will allow these entrepreneurs to prepare an application to the STEP and thus provide an identifiable route for migrant entrepreneurs to move from the start-up to realisation phase of their projects. This 12 month period will also be made available to non-EEA students who graduate with advanced STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) degrees in Ireland and who wish to work on preparing an application for the STEP.

§ There will be more emphasis on the marketing and promotion of the scheme and on aligning the STEP within our national strategy to promote Ireland as a world class business location.
The Minister concluded “Ireland is an excellent country for entrepreneurs and has many advantages in terms of quality of life for dynamic and innovative people and their families. We want to welcome them to Ireland to avail of the considerable benefits we have to offer their businesses. Today’s announcement is another initiative in support of the Governments ambition for Ireland to be among the most entrepreneurial nations in the world and acknowledged as a world class environment in which to start and grow a business. With the unemployment challenge that Ireland is currently facing, growing the number of entrepreneurs and start-ups is hugely important for Ireland’s economic development”.

13 March 2014